''SUNDANCER'' is the seventh full-length studio album released by German
melodic hard rock
Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences.
As hard rock ...
band
Fair Warning. The album was recorded in 2011 thru 2012 with final
mixing and production concluding in early 2013. The CD was released in Japan in April, 2013 and subsequently released in Europe and The United States in May and June 2013 respectfully. As with their previous release, 2009's ''Aura'', the band recorded as a four-piece with
Tommy Heart (vocals),
Helge Engelke (guitars), Ule W. Ritgen (bass) and C.C. Behrens (drums).
Recording
While Ule Ritgen and
Helge Engelke were the primary individual songwriters for Fair Warning's first six studio offerings, ''SUNDANCER'' has three tracks that were collectively written by the band. Ritgen said: "''This approach was new to us and it was certainly accompanied by one or two doubts, because you never know if something like that is going to work out. But, to our own surprise, we had an incredible amount of fun, resulting in three excellent songs.''" Engelke said of the process "''Three of the songs on “Sundancer” we wrote together. We never did it before but it turned out to be a nice experience resulting in good songs. The rest of the songs are written by Ule or me like on all the previous albums.''"
Touring and promotion
Fair Warning supported ''SUNDANCER'' with a brief tour of Japan with concerts in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
and
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
in July, 2013. The band enlisted Niklas Turmann (guitar) and Torsten Luederwaldt (keyboards) to supplement the live performances. In mid May, 2013, to promote the new album, record company Steamhammer/SPV, (
SPV GmbH
SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors ...
) posted the song "Hit and Run" on
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
.
Track listing
# "Troubled Love" – 4:25 b
# "Keep it in the Dark" – 4:54 c
# "Real Love" – 5:07 a
# "Hit and Run" – 3:42 c
# "Man in the Mirror" – 3:58 b
# "Natural High" – 3:28 b
# "Jealous Heart" – 4:54 a
# "Touch my Soul" – 4:48 b
# "Send me a Dream" – 5:00 b
# "Pride" – 4:21 c
# "Get Real" – 4:02 c
# "How does it Feel" – 5:07 a
# "Living on the Streets" – 4:00 b
# "Cool" - 3:28 c
# "Just as She Smiles" (Bonus Track) – 4:53
Song credits:
* a. Music by Engelke, Heart, Ritgen / Lyrics by Ritgen
* b. Music and Lyrics by Ritgen
* c. Music and Lyrics by Engelke
Personnel
*
Tommy Heart – Vocals
*
Helge Engelke – Guitars / Keyboards / Backing Vocals
*Ule W. Ritgen – Bass / Backing Vocals
*C.C. Behrens – Drums
References
External links
Fair WarningHeavy Harmonies WebsiteSPV Fair Warning Sundancer
{{Authority control
Fair Warning (band) albums
2013 albums